geesh...i'm getting bigger...

This week I have definitely noticed growth. You can totally tell in my weekly belly pic that things are starting to fill out more. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later!

I got my nursery bedding and other things in the mail this week. It looks really cute. Now what I need is to get my baby furniture so I can start putting things together. But...before I do that I have to clean out the spare room to turn it into the nursery. And that will take some time. I'm planning on tackling that project during the first week of my summer vacation. However, if I feel motivated enough during a weekend between now and then I may just start doing little things.

Baby Girl Amen's kicking is getting a lot stronger and a lot more noticeable. Still not enough to wake me up at night, but it is enough to actually see and feel from the outside of my belly. It's pretty fun to watch when she's really active. I read to Baby Girl Amen almost every night and I've noticed that she's usually pretty active when I first lay down in bed before I start reading. After I start reading though, she stops kicking like she's actually listening to my voice. It's pretty cool.

Yesterday I found out that me and Josh's stone was placed out at the cemetery. I went out there to see how it looks and I'm pleased. I think it looks really nice and I do think Josh would approve. I didn't know exactly how I would feel about it once I got out there and actually saw our names engraved on a piece of marble, but I can honestly say it felt good. It felt good to see my name next to his again. We are meant to be together and seeing it on something so permanent, something so concrete was comforting. Almost like another way of proving how much love we share together whether in life on earth or up Above. I jokingly said to Josh as I was getting ready to go, "Now I gotta pay for this thing." But after I said it I think Josh whispered to me and said, "At least you can do it now and our little girl won't have to." I am thankful for that. And it's so strange to me that here I am at 25 already paying off my headstone so that my unborn daughter won't have to worry about it. I know my grandparents have just recently gotten to that point and my parents haven't even thought about it...but here I am almost finished with it. Life's journey is so different for each and every one of us. It's so surreal to step back and look at the way my life has played out so far. Yet I'm so grateful for all of the gifts God has given me and I wouldn't trade a thing in life if it meant I would be a different person than who I am today.